


Sacred Stones: Another Path

by Prince_of_terror



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Blood and Violence, Character Death, F/M, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Rating May Change
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 16:21:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21751165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_of_terror/pseuds/Prince_of_terror
Summary: An alternate path in which Prince Lyon fails to harness the power of the sacred, thus he avoids becoming possessed by the demon king, yet, sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same.
Relationships: Eirika & Lyon (Fire Emblem), Eirika/Lyon (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21





	1. Turning point

Lyon walked towards the temple, last time he was there was three months ago when he requested father McGregor permission to experiment of the sacred stone of Grado in hopes of finding a cure for his father's disease, father McGregor refused and the conversation quickly devolved into a shouting match, the two men have not been in speaking terms ever since, however, in those three months emperor Vigarde's condition worsened, so Lyon now had no other choice, that to try again to gain control of the sacred stone, this time determined to get it by whatever means he had available.

He entered the temple, followed by his friend Knoll and his personal guards, there were greeted by a young woman with long blonde hair.

"Your majesty, what brings you here?" she asked.

"I need to see father McGregor, it's extremely important" he answered.

"Father McGregor went on a pilgrimage to Rausten a month ago and has yet to return, he put me in charge for the time being, what do you need ?" the priestess said.

"I want you to give me the sacred stone" the prince demanded.

"I'm sorry, but father McGregor ordered that nobody is to have access to the sacred stone, even you" she retorted.

"The stone contains the means to cure my father, I need you to give me the stone" he demanded again frantically.

"I'm sorry, but father McGregor ordered that nobody is to have access to the sacred stone, even you" she retorted again.

"My father, your liege is dying, give me the stone, now!" the prince shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry, but father McGregor ordered that nobody is to have access to the sacred stone, even you" she said again, this time with a hint of fear in her voice.

Lyon lost his patience and pushed the priestess aside, he walked towards the altar and grabbed the stone, he looked at the stone for a couple of seconds and yelled: "This is a fake, where is the real one?"

The woman remained silent.

He then ordered his men: "Search the temple for the sacred stone, leave no stone unturned"

For hours they searched frantically and found nothing.

"Come on, where is it?" he whispered.

Suddenly, a messenger came running and shouted: "Prince Lyon, emperor Vigarde, has passed away".

Lyon fell on his knees after hearing the news, after a few moments, stood up and walked towards the priestess with a vacant expression in his eyes.

"I'm sorry for the grievance I have caused, I'll take my leave" he apologized.

He and his men walked out of the temple and headed for the castle.

...

Later an emergency meeting was called, the ministers, generals and high ranking nobles of Grado where in attendance, the room was filled with whispers and mutterings, prince Lyon entered the room and announced: "Emperor Vigarde has passed way this afternoon, I have called this meeting to decide the course of action from here on out".

General Duessel said: " We must organize a funeral for our liege and the coronation ceremony for prince Lyon"

Knoll replied: "Emperor Vigarde wished to keep his condition in secret out of fear that other nations would perceive it as a sign of weakness, we should keep this as a private affair and limit it to the capital"

For the rest of the evening the nobles discussed the details for the funeral and the ceremony, at the end general Glen stood up and said: "Emperor Vigarde is dead, long live emperor Lyon"

Everyone in the room followed suit and shouted: "Long live emperor Lyon"

The meeting was finished and everyone left for the night, everyone except Lyon and Knoll, Lyon clutched his face and began to cry.

"What am I going to do, Knoll?, What am I going to do?" he wondered. "My father is dead, Grado will be destroyed by a cataclysm in a few years, how am I supposed to handle all this alone" he wept.

"My liege" Knoll answered, while placing his hand on his shoulder "you are not alone, the generals are loyal and will help you to the best of their ability, despite what your father said our allies in Renais will not abandon us, and I will always stay by your side, we shall pull through, Grado will endure this ordeal.

"Thank you, my friend, I depend on you far more than you know" Lyon said as he grabbed his hand and gave him a weak smile.

The doors opened and an old man, dressed in religious attire entered the room, "Prince Lyon, since we failed in our efforts to save the emperor, you know my situation regarding the theocracy of Austen, I have no home to return to, I was wondering, what is going to happen to me now?" he asked.

Lyon smiled and answered "you have served my father well these last months Riev and your efforts are greatly appreciated, I will see that you are re compensated generously, feel free to consider Grado your new home and continue with your research as well.

Riev then said "Heh, heh, heh... you're far too kind my liege and I'm touched by your generosity, thank you"

"You're welcome" answered Lyon.

"I wanted to ask you another thing" Riev said "these last months have been really exhausting, I was wondering I could be allowed to visit Carcino, visit its mountains and relax for some time"

Lyon answered: "Very well, you have my leave"

"Thank you, again, you're really kind my liege" Riev said "Heh, heh, heh... I hope I'll return soon enough to see your coronation"

...

A month had passed, Vigarde's funeral came and went and now was the day of Lyon's coronation, the news of Vigarde's demise were limited to the capital of Grado and a few nearby towns and villages, father McGregor still hadn't returned from his pilgrimage, rumors said that he was seeking refuge in Austen to avoid Lyon's wrath, the prince however held no grudge towards him and, in fact, wanted to apologize for his past behavior.

As the archbishop of Grado was in the middle of crowning of Lyon as the new emperor a figure emerged from the crowd, it was Vigarde, yet something about him was off, his skin was pale, like that of a corpse, his hair was now completely gray, his eyes were sunken.

Lyon stood up, shocked at the sight of his father and gave a tearful smile, but his joy didn't last long.

Vigarde pointed at Lyon and with a hoarse voice he ordered: "guards, arrest prince Lyon, he conspired with other nations to have me killed and seize power for himself"

Lyon just froze in place, not knowing what to do or say, however, before the guards could apprehend Lyon a burst of dark energy knocked back all the guards and suddenly a voice said: "Lyon, come with me"

The voice belonged to Knoll who then alongside a few of Lyon's loyalists tried to help him escape. He grabbed Lyon's hand and fled the castle along the remaining loyalists who managed to avoid capture, they ran west towards the woods.

"This is a conspiracy" Knoll said as they fled "Riev is the leader, he tried to kill me, I barely managed to escape, we must seek refuge in Rena is"

...

A few hours later Vigarde gathered his generals and ministers in the throne room and said: "My loyal servants, today we have managed to avert catastrophe, my son's treasonous plot has been foiled, yet he seems to have escaped west towards Rena is, we must assume that they are involved in the plot as well; general Duesell, Mobilize the troops as soon as possible, and prepare to march to the border"

"It shall be done" Duessel responded.

"General Selena, march east to Johanna and hire as many free companies as you consider necessary to reinforce our troops" Vigarde ordered.

"Yes, my liege" Selena said.

"General Glen, set sail to Carcino and arrange a meeting with councilman Pablo, his help will be instrumental in the upcoming war"

"As you command" answered Glen.

"Very well, you all have your orders, carry them out" Vigarde finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well this is my first fanfic ever, I await your feedback, and I will consider any constructive criticism that you might provide, thank you for reading my work.


	2. Comrades

Three weeks have passed since Grado invaded Renais, prince Ephraim, upon hearing the news, took a handful of knights and rode towards Grado, fighting whatever enemy soldier that stood in his way. Now he was a few miles from castle Renvall, having just routed a band of mercenaries, Ephraim decided that it would be a good idea to take the remaining supplies from the defeated mercenaries, among the things left behind, Ephraim's knights found a prisoner.

"Prince Ephraim, you need to see this!" a young green haired knight shouted.

"What is it, Kyle?" Ephraim answered as he entered the tent were the prisoner was being held.

Ephraim started untying the prisoner and tried having a better look at his face, he glared at the man's violet eyes and then became shocked.

"... Ephraim..." the man whispered before passing out.

"Get the medical supplies, now!" Ephraim ordered his men, as the knights left the tent, he knelt, held the man's hand and whispered: "Lyon, what happened to you?"

...

Lyon's body was a mess, he looked emaciated, his skin was pale, covered in scars, open wounds and dirt, his nails were long and unkempt as was his hair which had started to gray prematurely due to a mixture of stress and malnourishment, a thick, graying, unkempt beard had grown in his face, his once ornate robes where now torn and caked in dirt, he no longer looked like the proud scion of the most powerful nation in the continent, now he looked like some destitute beggar.

Lyon woke up later that evening and was greeted by the sight of Ephraim sitting next to him, he looked at him and asked: "Ephraim... w...where...where am I?, what happened?"

Ephraim said no word, just grabbed him by the collar and wrapped him in an embrace, he then said: "Lyon, I should be asking you that".

Lyon told him everything that had happened, from the illness and subsequent death of his father, to the events that transcured during the coronation and his escape, as they escaped many of his followers were captured or killed, including his friend Knoll, Ephraim in turn told him about Grado's invasion of Renais, then Ephraim asked him: "why do think this happened?"

"I don't know" Lyon answered "None of this makes any sense, but there is something I can't get out of my mind"

"Go on" said Ephraim.

Lyon continued "When my father returned from the grave during the coronation ceremony I felt a sense of dread when I saw him, I can't quite put my finger on it but there was something wrong with him, like he wasn't really my father anymore, like he wasn't even human"

Suddenly Lyon started coughing profusely, Ephraim said: "Try not to overexert yourself, here, drink this" as he poured a bottle of a bluish liquid into a wooden cup and handed it to Lyon.

Lyon drank it, it had a bitter taste and as he swallowed it, he could it burn his throat, then the coughing stopped, his pain subsided significantly, and his strength seemed to return.

"By the way, Ephraim, do you know what happened to the little girl?" Lyon asked.

"What girl?" Ephraim asked confused.

"The mercenaries that captured me were holding a young girl with indigo hair, I tried to help her escape, but I was discovered and captured."

Ephraim shook his head "You were the only prisoner we found"

Meanwhile, an older knight with brown hair entered the tent, "prince Ephraim" he said "we found another mercenary camp nearby; they seem to belong to the same group we encountered earlier"

"Good" said Ephraim with a smirk as turned towards the knight "stay here and take care of Lyon; Forde, Kyle and I will deal with them"

"Wait, Ephraim" said Lyon "Take me with you, I can fight"

"Do you have a weapon" asked Ephraim.

"I had a couple of tomes with me before I was captured" answered Lyon.

Ephraim then picked a nearby leather satchel and said "we found these, I think...”

Before he could continue Lyon grabbed the satchel out of his hands and started rummaging through it, he then said "yes, everything seems to be in order"

"Very well, you can come with us" said Ephraim " just remember, if things start to go south I want you to return to this camp, take whatever you need and head towards Rena is, you must warn my father about what's happening"

"Yes, I... I will" responded Lyon, then the two of them, alongside Kyle and Forde marched towards the enemy camp.

...

Ephraim observed the enemy camp from the top of a hill, it was smaller than he expected, with only five soldiers in total, he also noticed that there was a prisoner among them but couldn't discern much from where he was standing, he then gave the order to Kyle and Forde to charge towards the enemy, he also told Lyon to stay behind and only fight if he was attacked.

Kyle and Forde engaged two mercenaries, while Ephraim engaged their leader, a ranger and an ax fighter, both at the same time, the remaining mercenary, a cavalier, who was guarding the prisoner, seeing that his companions were under attack, abandoned his post, mounted his horse and joined the battle. Lyon then seized the opportunity and decided to sneak around the camp and try to free the prisoner, when he got close enough to the cage where the prisoner was being held he noticed that the prisoner was the little girl that he tried to rescue earlier, he quickly took the keys that were sitting on top of a crate completely unguarded and opened the cage.

The girl looked between nine and eleven years old, had indigo hair and was wearing a large crimson cloak, after seeing Lyon, she instinctively recoiled.

"Don't be afraid, I'm going to get you out of here" Lyon tried to call her down.

The girl, sensing no threat coming from Lyon, relaxed and decided to follow Lyon out of the camp.

Ephraim was having little trouble keeping the ranger and the axe fighter at bay and parrying their attacks, suddenly the cavalier charged towards him with the intention of striking him with his sword, Ephraim barely had time to notice and tried to dodge the attack, however he was not fast enough and the blow struck him across the left cheek and knocked him down, the ax fighter closed in to see whether Ephraim had been killed or not, when the ax fighter got close enough Ephraim opened his eyes and quickly stabbed him in the chest, then Ephraim stood up and glared at the cavalier, Ephraim's eyes were bloodshot, his hands were shaking, there was now a massive gash that ran from his left ear all the way to his chin, and he was grinning like a maniac.

"Give me more, more!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, and proceeded to lunge at the cavalier.

The cavalier charged towards Ephraim again, this time though, Ephraim managed to dodge in time and to stab the horse knocking the cavalier into the ground, the ranger took some distance, pulled out his bow and fired at Ephraim.

Meanwhile, Lyon had managed to get the girl out of the enemy camp, when he saw Ephraim having trouble keeping the cavalier at bay while also dodging the rangers arrows, so he ordered the girl to hide in some nearby bushes and rushed to help his friend.

The ranger prepared his next shot, this time he was certain he would hit Ephraim when suddenly Lyon casted flux on him, which not only knocked out of his horse but also threw off his aim causing his shot to miss Ephraim and instead hit the cavalier in the back of the neck, killing him instantly. Ephraim then lunged towards the ranger and struck him down before he could even stand up, then he looked around, Kyle and Forde had just managed to slay their opponents, the battle was over.

"Ephraim, your face!" exclaimed Lyon as he rushed towards his friend "we need to stitch that wound shut!"

...

Later that day, Lyon managed to stitch Ephraim wound to the best of this ability, the wound should heal properly and if he's lucky it would leave no noticeable scar, it was early in the evening, and they were all having dinner around a campfire, during which the girl introduced herself as Myrrh, the Ephraim asked about her whereabouts.

"Perhaps it would be best if I showed you" she then stood up and removed her cloak and revealed a pair of large, greenish-yellow wings.

Everyone was surprised, Lyon stood up in shock and said "y...you are... a manakete"

"A what?" asked Ephraim.

"T...they were an ancient race of dragon folk, I've read about them in a few legends" Replied Lyon.

"You are correct" said Myrrh "we live in the east... In Darkling Woods, one day we felt an ominous energy coming from the south, My companion Saleh and I... We went to investigate, but on our way we came across a battlefield and became separated, then some wicked folk, they deceived me and enchained me, they stole my dragonstone, they were preparing me for transport when you appeared and rescue me.

Kyle said "we should return to Renais and warn the king about this"

Ephraim responded "we don't have enough supplies for the journey back, even with what we took today, we will raid castle Renvall tomorrow and take enough for the journey back."

...

Later during the night everyone went to sleep, there were not enough tents for everyone so Ephraim and Lyon had to share a one, before going to sleep Ephraim asked "Lyon, I've noticed that you carry a tome that looks brand new, yet the one you use looks like it's about to fall apart, why is that?"

"I refuse to use that tome no matter what, don't ask me about it anymore, good night" Lyon replied angrily and went to sleep.

Ephraim looked at the cover, it read Naglfar.

...

Ephraim woke up in the middle of the night, Lyon was gone, and he took the Naglfar tome with him, Ephraim exited the tent to look for him, he quickly found him were the place the campfire was a few hours ago, he was ripping pages off and scribbling something into the tome, all while muttering curses angrily beneath his breath, soon Lyon closed the book and fell to the ground due to exhaustion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well thats the second chapter, I apologise for taking so long to update but I was extremely busy due to college, chores and some personal issues I would rather not mention, I would like to say that I will update sooner next time but i would be lying, most likely the next chapter won't be up until around July or August if I'm lucky, anyway, I'm thankful for all the support I've gotten so far, and again tell me in the comments about any mistakes or typos you find, It would help me improve my writing.


	3. Castle Renvall

Ephraim woke up early in the morning. He looked at Lyon's sleeping bag, but by the look of it he didn't seem to have slept on it last night.

He then exited the tent and looked around the camp. He saw Kyle, preparing breakfast; Myrrh eating by herself and Forde checking the remaining supplies, but couldn't catch a glimpse of neither Orson nor Lyon. He walked towards Kyle.

"Morning, Kyle" greeted Ephraim.

"Morning, your majesty" responded Kyle.

"Do you know where Orson and Lyon went?" Asked Ephraim.

"Orson volunteered himself to go and scout the surrounding area. Lyon was helping me around a few moments ago; he then took his portion and went to eat by himself near the edge of the camp." Said Kyle.

Ephraim walked around the camp and quickly found Lyon. He was sitting on top of a fallen tree, he had just finished eating his food, and seemed to be writing something on the other tome he was carrying. He didn't seem to be vandalizing this one though.

Ephraim walked towards him and asked, "Hey Lyon, what are you doing?"

Lyon answered, "Part of the text in this tome has faded due to overuse. I'm trying to fix it"

Ephraim then sat down with Lyon and said, "you know Lyon, I've been wondering, could you teach me how to use dark magic?"

"It would be a waste of time for everyone involved" answered Lyon, ”mastering the dark arts takes time, patience and lots of reading. We both know you don't like to read at all."

He then took a deep breath and said, "Besides, dark magic can be really dangerous if not wielded properly."

"How so?" Asked Ephraim.

"Well" responded Lyon "if your tome were to become damaged or if you use it past a certain point, you might suffer a "backlash" which depending on the spell may carry severe consequences. If you suffer a backlash while using flux, it will give you some grievous looking wounds.

Ephraim said "Lyon you know very well th..."

Lyon interrupted, "Nosferatu is usually safe, but should the damage received by the tome accumulate, it's attacks will become inaccurate and it's effects be reduced significantly."

Ephraim retorted "I see bu..."

Lyon continued, "A single backlash from Luna would be enough to put even the strongest of men out of commission for months"

Ephraim tried to answer, "I..."

Before he could speak Lyon retorted in quick succession, "Eclipse will burn away part of your life span. Fenrir will render you a helpless cripple. Then there's Gleipnir, the dark tome, one of Grado's sacred weapons. No one knows what would happen if you suffer a backlash with it. Most experts on the matter say it could be anything between rendering you sterile and melting your entrails.

"I see your point" Ephraim said with noticeable fear on his voice.

Sensing the fear on his voice, Lyon turned towards him, looked at him with an uncharacteristically smug expression on his face and said, "Dark magic can be fun, but is also quite unforgiving"

"Well" said Ephraim "Since you seem busy right now, I'll let you be. When Orson returns we'll have a meeting on what to do next, I want you to join in."

Lyon smiled and said, "I'll do as you say"

Ephraim then stood up and walked away from the site. Lyon chuckled, he wouldn't admit it in public, but he enjoyed watching his friend Ephraim squirm in fear for once in his life, that being said, he genuinely believed that it would be best for him to stay as far away from dark magic as possible. he had seen first hand the harm it's misuse can cause and didn't want his friend to suffer because of it. He also couldn't help but to think in the tome he was fixing. It was well past the point where it could be used safely. He knew that every time he casted a spell using it he was tempting fate, but it was his only option.

...

An hour passed, Forde had just finished checking the remaining supplies. They were dangerously low, barely enough for the way back to Renais. Orson returned with dreadful news. An entire batallion had been dispatched from Renvall and were now surrounding their camp. also, the capital of Renais had fallen, and there was no word on the whereabouts on either king Fado and Princess Eirika. Ephraim then decided to capture castle Renvall.

Upon hearing this Forde said, "W... What. Prince Ephraim, have you lost your mind?"

Kyle yelled, "Forde! Watch your tongue! This is our prince you're addressing!"

"The enemy devoted many troops to hunt us down" spoke Lyon, "It must mean the castle is currently maned with a skeleton crew, we should stand a chance!"

"Thank you, Lyon" said Ephraim " also if we succeed the enemy will waste many soldiers to take it back. That should disrupt their war effort and help my father and Eirika." then he smiled and said, "trust me. I don't pick fights I can't win."

Then they rode towards castle Renvall.

...

They soon arrived at the castle.

Ephraim asked Orson, "Orson, the wounds you got in that skirmish several days ago, they haven't healed properly yet, have they? Don't push yourself. If we are defeated, you must go to Frelia. Understood?"

"... Understood." Responded Orson.

Lyon walked towards Orson and said, "Sir Orson. Take this time." Lyon gave Orson the Naglfar tome, "You must destroy this tome. Burn it in a campfire. Throw it down a river. The enemy must not get this tome.

"I'll do as you say", Said Orson as he took the time and put it in his satchel.

"Lyon, stay near the entrance with Myrrh. If things go wrong I want you to go to Frelia along with Orson." said Ephraim.

"I will" Said Lyon.

As they sneaked into the castle, Lyon said to Ephraim, "Ephraim, even if the enemy is operation with the bare minimum of manpower, they still outnumber us. Be careful!"

"I will, Lyon!" Responded Ephraim.

Then Ephraim and his knights charged towards the enemy troops, slaughtering whatever sentry they could find. Meanwhile, Lyon stood by the entrance, watching out for enemy reinforcements, while also making sure nothing happened to Myrrh. He looked at her and noticed she seemed to be upset.

"What troubles you?" Lyon asked.

"I'm worried about Saleh. We separated so long ago. I'm not sure he's even alive anymore" answered Myrrh.

Lyon the said, "well, if he was entrusted with such an important task he shouldn't have any trouble surviving even in times like these"

Lyon's words did nothing to reassure Myrrh, so he proceeded to pat her in the head.

"W...what are you doing?" Myrrh asked flustered.

"When I was a child and I got upset, my father would pat me in the head. That would usually make me feel better." Lyon said.

"You...father?" Asked Myrrh.

"Yes, my father, emperor Vigarde of Grado." Said Lyon with a prideful tone in his voice, " one of the best emperors we ever had. He was strong, wise and just."

"What about your mother?" Myrrh asked.

"My mother" Lyon said with a somber expression, " she succumbed to the plague when I was a child. Her loss affected my father deeply. He went as far as to have every portrait of the removed from the castle. I can't even remember her face anymore".

Myrrh demeanor didn't seem to change, Lyon took a deep sigh, sat next to her and said, "sorry, I'm not good at cheering people, i wish that either Eirika or Knoll, they would know what to do"

"Who?" asked Myrrh puzzled.

"My friends" answered Lyon, "Eirika is Ephraim's twin sister. She's so sweet and kind. There's something about her that puts everyone she meets at ease.", Lyon smiled and started blushing, "If i ever were to marry someone, I hope it will be someone like her." He then stopped blushing and looked at the horizon with a hopeful expression, " Knoll is a fellow dark magic scholar. He stood by my side when my father fell ill, when my efforts to save him failed, even when the rest of Grado turned against me. He was captured some days ago, but he's very resourceful. By this point he must have escaped and is probably making his way towards Renais."

Suddenly their conversation was interrupted by enemy soldiers. One of the hunting parties looking for Ephraim had returned and charged towards Lyon. Lyon quickly stood, placed himself in front of Myrrh and tried to fight off the enemy. He casted flux on the enemy, however due to the damage his tome had suffered his spells could barely slow them down.

"... Lyon" said Myrrh fearfully as she noticed Sparks fly out of the tome and felt a burning smell in the air.

Suddenly Lyon's tome was engulfed in a purple flame, causing him to drop it. He then fell to his knees, clutched his arm and began screaming in pain. He quickly stood up and fled, grabbing Myrrh by the hand. They kept running until they found an empty room. They entered the room and barred the door behind. Myrrh looked horrified at Lyon's wounds. Lyon examined his wounded arm, his fingernails were gone and his arm was covered in wounds from the fingertips to the elbow. Lyon looked around the room. It looked like the castle's armory.

"I need a tome" Yelled Lyon with a pained expression on his face, "thick and black with purple ornaments". Myrrh began searching as quickly as she could for the tome Lyon needed, Lyon in the meantime, looked for medical supplies for his wounds. He found only a single bottle, he opened it and was immediately hit with the smell of hard liquor. Lyon poured the contents of the bottle over his wounded arm. He grunted in pain as the alcohol burned him. Then he ripped part of his robe to use as makeshift bandages.

"I found some" yelled Myrrh, carrying three books fitting Lyon's description.

"Thanks" Lyon said as took the tomes from Myrrh's hands, "Let's see: flux, luna, Nosferatu... yes, these should work".

Suddenly they heard banging from the other side of the door.

"He have to go!" said Lyon.

Lyon and Myrrh fled through another door. they kept running until they found themselves in the throne room. Ephraim and the others were there too, having just killed the enemy commander. Ephraim looked at Lyon's bandaged arm and blood-splattered robes, he asked, "Lyon, what happened?"

"Enemy reinforcements have arrived!" Lyon screamed while clutching his wounded arm.

"Reinforcements?... so quickly?" said Ephraim surprised.

Forde entered the room and said, "Prince Ephraim, things have turned for the worse. I took a look at the castle perimeter... we have been surrounded!"

"It was a trap" said Lyon, "and they used their own men as bait. Who... who could do such a thi..."

Lyon then closed his eyes as his expression turn to that of utter terror. he whispered, "Valter".

"What should we do?" asked Kyle.

"... we must escape!" Ephraim yelled.

...

Ephraim and the others ran outside the castle only to find themselves surrounded on all sides by enemy troops. Enemy troops led by general Valter the Moonstone. In Lyon's mind this was the worst case scenario. General Valter landed his wyvern in front of Ephraim. Valter dismounted and said to Ephraim, "So, you’ve captured Renvall, have you? And with such a small force! Impressive! You’ve earned your reputation. I must say, I quite admire your work. I take it you’re the leader of this pack–the misguided Prince Ephraim."

"I am." Responded Ephraim.

Valter then began taunting Ephraim about the fall of Renais and demanded they surrender to him, Lyon whispered into Ephraim's ear, "Ephraim, we don't stand a chance against him, we need to flee!"

Valter noticed Lyon's presence, and glared at him while his mouth curved into a smirk. he said, "Now that's a face I wasn't expecting to see. Lyon the kinslayer". Upon hearing those words Lyon became visibly livid. Valter continued," I think I found an old friend of yours the other day. What was his name?... Norm? ...Knov? .... Knoll!, Knoll was his name!" Valter chuckled, "You know, he was rather resilient, I spent several days torturing him, trying to break him, so we could know your whereabouts, but the only thing he would say was, "Prince Lyon will save us all!" Valter continued mockingly, the last part in particular he said with a breathy falsetto. He then took a deep breath said with a smug expression on his face, "eventually I just gave up and... well I you were kind enough to lay down your weapons and surrender, I could tell you all about it."

Lyon whispered, "Valter, you bastard!"

Ephraim looked at his friend, his eyes were bloodshot, he was shaking, his face had twisted into what can only be described as an expression of murderous rage. It seemed like any second now he would try to pounce on him and rip out his throat.

Ephraim immediately shouted, "Everyone, we break to the east, go!"

Lyon snapped out of his rage and followed Ephraim. They ran towards the woods east of Renvall. They fought tooth and nail to shake off the enemy, eventually they managed to lose them.they continued walking eventually they found a way out of the forest, only to make a horrifying discovery. they found themselves near a road, next to it dozens of heads mounted on pikes littered the countryside. Lyon said, " I knew many of these people. Military officers, clergymen even noblemen. they must have opposed the war, so they were exe..." he suddenly stopped, he recognized one in particular"

"What's wrong, Lyon!" Ephraim asked.

Lyon whispered, "Knoll... My friend".

Lyon the fell on his knees and began laughing hysterically, the laughter then degenerated into a horrid screaming and then into inconsolable weeping.

Ephraim looked at the sky, he saw wyverns flying. They were flying high, out of reach, so most likely, they were scouts. Ephraim grabbed Lyon and said to him, "Lyon, we are not safe here, we have to leave!"

Lyon tried his best to compose himself and followed Ephraim into the woods.

...

Hours passed, eventually the wyvern scouts moved elsewhere, so Ephraim decided to set up a camp, he then asked Forde, "How are our current stocks?"

Forde answered, "If we were to depart now and if we were lucky, we won't have to eat our own horses until after we reach Serafew."

"I see" Ephraim said, "any news regarding Orson's whereabouts?"

"We haven't seen him since the attack at Renvall, we should consider the possibility that he didn't survive." Said Kyle.

"Has anyone seen Lyon?" asked Ephraim.

"Last time i saw him, he was tending his own wounds near the river" said Myrrh with a solemn tone in her voice, " he seems to be distraught by the death of his friend."

Ephraim went to the river and found Lyon. He was washing his wounded arm while humming a song for himself. Ephraim recognized the song, he had heard it a long time ago when visiting Grado.

"I know that song" Ephraim said as he sat next to his friend, "I can't remember the name but i remember the lyrics. It's sad. It's about a young man, who mourns the death of his older, much nobler brother, while begging the gods to bring back his brother and take him instead."

Lyon stopped humming, but said nothing. He continued washing his wounds.

"What happened to your arm?" asked Ephraim.

"Backlash" Responded Lyon with a deadpan tone.

"Well, I'll let you be" said Ephraim while preparing to leave.

"Last night, you asked about that tome" said Lyon.

Ephraim stopped.

"That tome, Naglfar. That tome is evil" Lyon continued.

"How so?" asked Ephraim confused.

Lyon responded, "About a year ago, when my father fell ill, I caught a fever. It left me bedridden for three days. When I woke up, I was sitting on my desk, with that tome in my lap. Something used my hands to write that tome. At first, I thought it was a sign that the heavens had listened to my pleas, I could save my father. But after everything that has happened, I can now see clearly the true nature of that tome, especially after hearing Myrrh's tale."

"So that's why you tried to tear it to pieces?" asked Ephraim.

"I know I'm not as strong as you. I've survived only by luck and the sacrifice of others. It was only a matter of time before I was captured or killed. If that were to happen, the Naglfar tome would fall into Riev's hands. Riev want’s that tome. I don't know his true intentions, but whatever they are it doesn't bode well for Magvel. So I thought that if I were to damage that tome enough, next time Riev tried to use it, the backlash it would cause should be enough to kill him, which would put an end to his ambitions, and hopefully hinder Grado's war effort. As many magic users from Rausten, he uses light magic, which lacks the backlash problem dark magic has, or it's not as serious, so the idea of someone using a magic tome to assassinate him wouldn't cross his mind. However, then I started thinking. What if Naglfar doesn't follow the same logic as other dark tomes?, I then gave the tome to Orson, and asked to destroy it should something happen, let's hope for the best."

"This Riev... What do you think his endgame is?" asked Ephraim.

"I don't know." Lyon answered "At first is thought he was trying to create a large undead army and carve an empire for himself. Or summon a lesser demon to do his bidding. But..."

"But..." Interrupted Ephraim.

Lyon continued with fear in his voice, “But lately I can't shake the feeling that he's planning something worse, far worse. Something that will endanger the very existence if the world as we know it." Lyon then shook his head, "But that cannot be. He can't be that insane, and if he is, he wouldn't do it. The sacred stone of Grado is still intact, currently in Father McGregor's possession and last time I saw him he was on his way to Rausten. The sacred stone... It protects us from His wrath."

Lyon's words no longer made any sense. By the look on his face it seemed as he was asking for some kind of validation. Ephraim put his and on Lyon's shoulder and said to him, "Yeah, you're right, there's nothing to fear. Come, dinner should be about to be served."

"Yes, I'll follow you Ephraim" Said Lyon with a sigh of relief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that was chapter three. I seems a bit longer and violent that I anticipated, despite all that I managed to deliver it way sooner than expected. That been said, I don't think this will be the case with the remaining chapters, especially since I'm expected to resume normal classes at college halfway through May. On the other hand, I always assume the worst outcome will be the correct one, so who knows what will happen.
> 
> I want to thank my readers for their support, in particular I want to thank two close friends of mine to whom I shared this fanfic with and offered my advice on how to improve. This chapter in particular was written over the course of several days under the effects of stress thanks to assignments from college, sleep depravation and the hellish tropical summer heat, so you will notice an increase in typos, misspellings, inconsistencies and things that just plain don't make sense. Any correction or advice on how to improve will be greatly appreciated.
> 
> Edit: A friend of mine, who gives me feedback on my writing, noticed some typos and gramatical erros, I have corrected them.


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